The AskMen Mince Pie Championship

Christmas is a time of tough decisions. What should you buy your long-term girlfriend? Is the human stomach able to safely digest more than one Christmas lunch per few hours? Just how 'big' should you go with your Christmas jumper? One thing you shouldn't have to concern yourself is mince pies. Of course, we don't mean ignoring them. That'd be a nonsense. We mean we shouldn't be forced into spending valuable festive time deciding on precisely which mince pie you should be investing your valuable Christmas cash (and appetite) on. So, we took it upon ourselves to solve this quandary with the founding of the inaugural AskMen Mince Pie Championship. And this is what we did:

Marched up and down our nearest high street (which, granted, is Oxford Street) and picked up 16 different pies.

Skipped lunch.

Appointed several members of the AskMen team as judges.

Conducted the draw. Much like they do with the FA Cup. Look, here's photographic proof of said draw (well, sort of proof):

The rules were simple. For the first round, a different independent judge would conduct a blind tasting and select a winner. The winning pie then progresses to the Quarter Finals to face another winner (according to the bracket — see Page 2) where one of two teams of three judges decide the outcome. The same two teams of three judges also decide the semi-final winners before a larger judging panel, led by our Big Boss Geoff will decide the winner. Got it? Good. Here's how the first round went down...

Sainsbury's Taste The Difference All Butter Mince Pies (£2.50 for 6) vs Holly Lane by Aldi Deep Fill Mince Pies (99p for 6) Surely an easy choice in this David v Goliath fixture? And so it was, under the watchful eye of Ad Ops Manager Katie Brennand. The Aldi pie was lambasted for its "really, really flimsy pastry, liquid-like filling and complete lack of booze." The Sainsbury pie, however, won praise for "a much juicier filling and strong hints of brandy." Winner: Sainsbury's Taste The Difference All Butter mince pies

Melrose & Morgan mince pies(£7.50 for 6) vs Marks & Spencer Iced Top mince pies (£3.99 for 6)The round's final tie welcomed a guest judge — brother site IGN's Games Editor Daniel Krupa — and a spot of controversy. Daniel was initially suspicious of the iced interloper, haughtily describing the pie as "far too decadent". However, he was eating his words (and, of course, iced top mince pie) when he concluded that the experience was "not wholly unpleasant, despite its smothering of icing." The vitriol Daniel felt towards its rival, however, is barely fit to publish. "Homogenous," and "dangerous lack of structural integrity" are two of the kinder things we found in our notes.Winner: Marks & Spencer Iced Top Mince Pies